ravenDivinity

When the Flames Die

Furrowing his brow as he kept an open ear, stone-faced Gareth twiddled his thumbs and drank of the savory wine. Now he was stoic and aware of simply how grave the situation was, stark against a sanguinary background. He felt reassured about the incident in the study, however it was clear that the court of King Bard II, Gareth and Sir Walden included, had to come back with a vengeance and bring the kingdom back on its feet. The battle they would fight, however, would be different from most fought; wit and intelligence comprised its core tasks. Sir Walden understood as well as Gareth did that Harker could have nothing to do with the events in the castle. There was simply no way someone with no political ties could do anything of that sort, no motivation. The order brought to him by Walden put him off, though. "I am not sure that... I can exactly be a hero." Gareth deeply questioned his potential, despite acceptance of his duties. "But, um, as you instruct, I will do." Another task set before him: collecting intelligence. Being new to the Order, such a task would normally be reserved for those in higher ranks, but security was more important, and Gareth's innocence and impartialness was vital to the task Walden wished for the half-elf to carry out.

When the Flames Die

Acting more gentle, Walden clearly took on a more serious tone this time around, and Gareth could hear it in the tones of the normally-jovial man. Taking the glass in hand, he nodded in compliance and sat at the enormous chair, obviously larger than himself. Harker took one miniscule sip and understood then that Sir Walden did not call the half-elf to reprimand him, but rather to condition him for something larger. He set the glass on the surface before him, and he put his hands in his lap while he opened his ears to listen to the words Walden was uttering. "Mmm, yes, sir." Like always, he didn't have much to say; however, in this case, he didn't need to anyway. All there was for him to do was listen.

When the Flames Die

"Gareth Harker, pleasure to-" The knight, speak of the devil, interrupted Harker in the midst of his introduction. He froze, looking up to hear the knight and get a good look of the knight's face as he delivered his message to the new squire. Harker nodded. "Ah, um, yes sir." He only had time to utter those words as the knight departed them, only there to give a brief notice and attend to other business. "I am terribly sorry... I have summons elsewhere..." Gareth immediately stood, bow and quiver on his back and body looking poised to leave. He knew he could go visit Walden whenever it fit his schedule, but he was no busy person and preferred to visit others in a timely manner. That aside, he'd rather not screw up another first meeting either. With a curt bow for both ladies, more for the princess, he spoke. "I shall see you later... I hope." That is, if fate would allow. On his heel the half-elf turned, and off in the direction of the west end he turned. The hall was quite long and vacated, Gareth noted, save for two guards placed across each other near its end by a door left slightly ajar, which Harker presumed to be the entrance into the mentioned study. Quietly he pushed the hard wood open, and stepped into the presence of his employer with a gentle rapping on the wall to make Gareth's arrival known. "You, ah, summoned me, sir?" His voice shook, seeming anxious at being called for in a dire time. Of course, it wouldn't be hard to read his dismay from the reddened whites of his eyes and his long face.

When the Flames Die

Gareth remained still and taciturn after Feril had entered the chatter between Sophia and him, a little too bashful to be the first to introduce himself or speak up. In that type of situation of course, he looked towards whomever he was with to take charge of introductions. The woman across the table seemed exhausted and outspoken, using a curse outright before a princess and pervading Sophia and Gareth's dialogue with a crass remark, and though Gareth could remain composed and unjudging in demeanor, he couldn't refrain from analyzing Feril's mannerisms. In that same moment, he idly thought to himself about the whereabouts of Sir Walden and wondered of the hour when he would be fetched by a knight or some other—the knights told him to stay in the great hall for no other reason, and he did so with reluctance to the torture he experienced through the trial, so surely it wasn't for naught.

When the Flames Die

"I cannot give utterance." Gareth said as he rotated in his chair to face Sophia. To what it all coalesced was a mystery. The sum of all events pointed to a proliferation of military advances on Arcartus at least, but the fate of Keilaudrin beyond that was unknown. His focus at that particular fragment of time was on what his fate at hand was. Harker hoped that few suspicions were placed on him—if there were a great multitude suggesting he killed Redwyne, he'd be convicted despite his innocence. Hopefully the tribune didn't believe in killing the messenger. He did no wrong, and certainly afterwards Gareth knew he had to do his best as a squire in Redwyne's honor. It was the right thing to do, for Gareth to be honorable and offer up Sir Cole as an inspiration. His glossy blue eyes panned the room around him once more before bringing them back to Sophia's yellows.

When the Flames Die

DrowsyPangolin said
Direct interaction is Sophia's middle name.

"The name's Sophia. Her Majesty, Sophia Direct Interaction Octavia, the young, princess of Lyok, great follower of the Great Serpent."

When the Flames Die

Gareth listened intently as the conversation continued, his crying having stopped but his grief still raging on. He remained skeptical of Thomas's retelling of events, but impartial nevertheless. By this point, he was unsure of how he felt about Thomas—whether he felt a fleeting infatuation or a burning disapproval—, for the knight in question behaved so rashly and conceited that it threw Gareth. Jezin, being a secondary witness, painted a picture different from the one Thomas envisioned; from the Lyoki bodyguard's deductions, Harker drew his conclusions: That Thomas, though engaged in a physical struggle with the woman named Lexine, overpowered his opponent and left her in cold blood. The half-elf didn't want to own up to the idea that Thomas committed murder, for at least to some degree self-defense appealed as an explanation, but he could not excuse the killing of someone who could've provided vital information related to likely not only one, but also two deaths, and the premeditated assassinations that Gareth believed would follow. A gentle touch behind him alerted him to another's presence, and he perked up and listened to the disembodied, silvery voice he heard. Sophia. Harker delivered a simple response, succinct enough to convey his inner conflict. "Partly."

When the Flames Die

DrowsyPangolin said
Oh no, out of the ordinary happened at all, everything is just peachy. Promise.

Come on, put up some sort of subtlety, girrrrl.

On the other hand, I suppose I'll not post until some sort of direct interaction arises.

When the Flames Die

Gareth took his head up from the table and stared straight at the front of the room; he covered his mouth with his hand as he watched Thomas give testimony through dampened sea-colored eyes. Part of the testimony Thomas contained what sounded like folly and contrived details. A grown man of Thomas' stature couldn't simply think that slamming someone's head against a wall with full force would just knock a person out, no, for something of that animalistic instinct to fight couldn't be that harmless. Furthermore, in Gareth's focus of that particular detail, he wouldn't think someone could die from one hit to the wall. There had to be more damage done. Harker shuddered in his chair. In the midst of his sorrow, Thomas took the path of arrogance. If the man sought her interrogation while he was off-duty, Gareth believed Sir Morgan should've talked to Sir Redwyne about it, but it seemed Thomas was too trustworthy of Lexine and too cocky to follow what was standard practice among every respectable knighthood. Even someone without any kind of expertise could deduce that. But Gareth knew he had to restrain himself and hold back his tears. If the teary-eyed boy shouted anything about what he surmised to be true, then he would be getting out of line.

When the Flames Die

Choking out a gasp, Gareth only caught a brief glimpse of Thomas when he had broken his train of thought to take note of the goings-on around him. Boy, he sure wished then that he had not. After the sight he saw, his current despondent state seemed as if it wouldn't cease anytime soon to the boy, and he quickly turned his eyes away from the guards entering the area. Sophia and Jezin, he also noted for the brief time he broke his depressed trance, had since left the great hall. To where they went he knew not, but it seems they felt the need to leave him to his emotions for some time. Actually, the half-elf felt a little bad, pushing Sophia away as he did, for now he willed to have someone at his side during what he could only describe as more gut-wrenching to add to his turmoil. Harker bit his lip as his crying continued and did what he little he could to condition himself for what lie ahead.